NEW DELHI: Children's TV channels in India earn as much as 10% of their revenues from brand integrations and there is potential for this sector to grow further, according to industry figures.
Nina Jaipuria, evp & business head/Kids Cluster at Viacom 18 explained that this approach allowed the channel to offer value to advertisers outside standard 30-second advertising spots.
"Brand integrations are a win-win for all the stake holders including channel, advertisers and the viewers," she told Exchange4Media.
"We are seeing an increasing demand for brand integrations and non FCT (free commercial time) customisations given that advertisers have now understood the ability of such integrations to drive affinity for their brand amongst audiences," she added.
That view was echoed by Juhi Ravindranath, vp/ South Asia at Turner International India, who said the company was "seeing a consistent growth in revenues through integrations".
At Viacom-owned Nickelodeon, for example, brands such as Horlicks and Prataap Snack, have been integrated into the Motu Patlu show, while the channel has set up school contact programmes linked to brands and van activations which have included sampling, customised games and merchandise giveaways.
Ravindranath noted that advertisers in categories beyond the usual children's ones were also exploring brand integrations as a way of reaching adult decision makers.
"We have enough examples of non-traditional advertisers like Honda, Godrej, ICICI Prudential, Canon, Dell, Panasonic and many others that are showing increasing interest," she said.
Brand integrations are not a simple option, however, requiring greater levels of co-operation and a longer planning periods to take account of TV production schedules.
And with animated shows – popular with children – these problems are multiplied. "Animation has a longer production pipeline and hence it requires advance planning thus limiting the scope and making integrations challenging," Jaipuria explained.
Another issue she highlighted was budgets. "While most advertisers have recognized the potential of brand integrations to cut through the clutter, some advertisers are yet to commit costs for such integrations and fully capitalize on its true potential," Ravindranath said.
Nina Jaipuria, evp & business head/Kids Cluster at Viacom 18 explained that this approach allowed the channel to offer value to advertisers outside standard 30-second advertising spots.
"Brand integrations are a win-win for all the stake holders including channel, advertisers and the viewers," she told Exchange4Media.
"We are seeing an increasing demand for brand integrations and non FCT (free commercial time) customisations given that advertisers have now understood the ability of such integrations to drive affinity for their brand amongst audiences," she added.
That view was echoed by Juhi Ravindranath, vp/ South Asia at Turner International India, who said the company was "seeing a consistent growth in revenues through integrations".
At Viacom-owned Nickelodeon, for example, brands such as Horlicks and Prataap Snack, have been integrated into the Motu Patlu show, while the channel has set up school contact programmes linked to brands and van activations which have included sampling, customised games and merchandise giveaways.
Ravindranath noted that advertisers in categories beyond the usual children's ones were also exploring brand integrations as a way of reaching adult decision makers.
"We have enough examples of non-traditional advertisers like Honda, Godrej, ICICI Prudential, Canon, Dell, Panasonic and many others that are showing increasing interest," she said.
Brand integrations are not a simple option, however, requiring greater levels of co-operation and a longer planning periods to take account of TV production schedules.
And with animated shows – popular with children – these problems are multiplied. "Animation has a longer production pipeline and hence it requires advance planning thus limiting the scope and making integrations challenging," Jaipuria explained.
Another issue she highlighted was budgets. "While most advertisers have recognized the potential of brand integrations to cut through the clutter, some advertisers are yet to commit costs for such integrations and fully capitalize on its true potential," Ravindranath said.
Data sourced from Exchange4Media; additional content by Warc staff
